Day 17 Nimes to Montpellier

“It is only 60 kms, without much wind, today should be an easy day,” I thought as I set out. I always like this part of the day, when you are not yet warmed up, and still have a sense of the adventures to come; before the soporific effect of the constant pedaling and the i pod sets in. To be fair, the cycling was easy – flat, no wind to speak of, but the shameful state of the road surface, combined with the fact that there were no obvious alternative small roads to take,  left me in a constant battle with busy traffic and busy towns.

la place d'europe

I cleared Nimes easily and set off on the N113 (which eventually passes near to Raissac d’ Aude) It could have been fine, but the “bande de securite” ( hard shoulder)  was in such bad condition that I had no alternative but to cycle on the road. The cars and lorries took it in turn to try to “persuade” me back on to the hard shoulder.  The worst offender was a little invalid car which actually brushed my pannier. I gave him the universal sign of displeasure to which he took great offence. The second difficulty was that I had chosen a Premiere Classe hotel which was due west of Montpelier in St-Jean-de-Vedas and I was coming from due east of Montpellier. I certainly wasn’t about to go through the centre but there was no easy route around. To cut a long boring story short,  I eventually got to my hotel at about 2pm and by 3pm I was in the centre of Montpellier, after a 25 minute trip on the tram. (and a shower and everything unpacked and the bike safely stowed away for two days)

Unlike travelling by train, you don’t see much from the tram because of the way it has been constructed after the city. When I stepped off the tram at the arbitrarily chosen “Place de Europe” I walked no further than 50 metre before I had one of those “wow” moments. La Place de Europe  was stunning and it was on a vast scale. I could have been in Texas because everything seemed to be bigger and better than the next.

I wandered about for a bit but it soon became clear that I would need some help so I went into the “Office de Tourisme” and picked up a map and directions to “le petit train touristique.” I am becoming quite the dedicated tourist. One thing which drives me mad and I can’t understand is: “ Why can’t they employ someone who actually speaks English to write the blurb….. “departure and return on the place of the Comedie, near the Tourisme office. Ask on the cashier to know the next departure.”

The chamber of commerce!

Well I got on the next departure and went to all of the places which I can visit properly tomorrow,  now that I know where they are and how to get to them. Montpellier was really buzzing. It seemed to be full of young people and the energy that they bring. Yes, there were tourists of course, but not too many English voices, in fact I can’t think when I last saw a British registration, Chatillon sur Seine perhaps? The tourists were vastly outnumbered by the swathes of Montpellier residents all moving around at a Mediterranean pace or sitting in the thousands of cafes which abound in every conceivable place. If there is room to place a table and chair then it is so placed and another shoehorned in for good measure.

I think I may start at “La Place Royale du Peyrou”  which is the highest point of Montpellier and which should afford me a view of the other places I would like to visit. I don’t think I’ll emulate the girls in the fountain but I may put a foot (or even two) in to cool down.